


Half Life but the Resonance Cascade Never Happened

by artemis_sighs



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom
Genre: Bad to say the least, Not A Game AU, OH they/him benrey btw i use they a lot more though!, black mesa is, hlvrai but its just.. half life w hlvrai characters, imagine having to fight to survive there, sorry normal half-life fans i rlly wish there was a sep. tag for hlvrai, terrifying bro, xen is traumatizing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:47:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27837064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artemis_sighs/pseuds/artemis_sighs
Summary: It was a simple, failed experiment. Some weird guard refused to leave him alone, could've potentially got killed or very ill from radiation poisoning, then shrugged it off as if it was nothing.
Relationships: Benrey & G-Man, Benrey & Gordon Freeman, Bubby & Gordon Freeman, Dr. Coomer & Gordon Freeman, Tommy Coolatta & Gordon Freeman, potential Benrey/Gordon Freeman
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this chap..is REAL boring sorry lmfao gotta get the basics outta the way first
> 
> uh  
> im on twitter @VLLLAINWILBUR but im a Minecraft youtuber account so like... its there if u want? ig

Gordon held his breath as electricity crackled in the air, knuckles turning white underneath the gloves of the HEV suit. He heard a curse from the guard who had refused to leave the testing lab, jaw set as they stared at the machine. 

Then it just.. stopped. Nothing happened. 

"What the fuck?" he heard one of the scientists mumble. loud enough to be caught by the microphone. 

"Uh.. is that.. supposed to happen?" Gordon called up, taking a step back from the machine and glancing back at the group. He couldn't see much, but Coomer, Tommy, and the other scientist muttered to each other. 

"No," Tommy answered, leaving the protected room and sliding down the ladder. The guard smirks at him, spreading their hands. 

"See? No predetermined deaths, Freeman." 

Gordon growls in annoyance, turning back to the failed experiment. Tommy was examining the machine, then the spectrometer. 

"Um.. I- we should.. talk to- talk to higher-ups about this. Mr. Freeman, go ahead and take off the HEV su- HEV suit." 

Gordon nodded, glancing at the guard as he started for the exit, who was now leaning against the wall, eyes distant. They were frowning, arms crossed and shoulders tensed. 

"Uh.. you good, dude? 'S just a failed experiment. They happen all the time." The guard snapped out of their trance, expression falling back to a neutral state.

"yeah. fine! e-epic. just.. just upset you don't have your passport, bro." 

"..Right. What's your name, by the way?" 

"trying to steal my identity, Freeman?" 

Gordon supressed the urge to just leave. "No, trying to be a good coworker." 

The guard paused for a moment, arms uncrossing as one hand was shoved into a pocket. "..benrey."

"Benrey?" Gordon repeated. 

"benrey," they confirmed. 

"Right. Benrey. 'kay. Um, see you around... I guess." 

"mh." Benrey returned to staring at the machine. Gordon gave them one last glance before leaving, finding the HEV suit room. 

Gordon, once freed from the suit, shrugged his lab coat back on and made his way towards the testing lab. Multiple scientists Gordon didn't recognize nor cared to learn the names of circled the machine, a lift now in operation. Looking for the scientists he recognized, he spotted the security guard from earlier talking a man dressed in a suit and holding a briefcase. 

The man scowled at something Benrey had said, which in turn made Benrey spread their hands. They shook their head and turned to face Gordon, saying one last thing to the suited man before leaning back against the wall and watching the man leave with a frown.

Odd, but Gordon would question it later. He continued to look, turning back around and finding the stairwell that led to the examination room after he decided the three other scientists weren't there.

\--

"Benrey." 

The guard didn't need to turn to know who it was. The distinct voice of the so-called G-Man was immediately identified by nearly anyone who worked at Black Mesa for more than a week. Sometimes, you'd see him just around the corner. Blink and he was gone. 

No one questioned it, and when they did, people just shrugged it off. Said it was normal, Black Mesa was weird, don't think about it too hard. It was rare for him to actually appear for more than a few moments, much rarer for him to speak. Still, though, his presence was immediately distinguishable from anyone else. 

"yo." 

G-Man raised his head as scientists began to enter, whispering to co-workers as they spotted the G-Man. He shifted his briefcase in his hands uncomfortably. 

"Did you, interfere, with the experiment?" 

"and what if i did? no fun to have, uh, have fuckin aliens run around." 

G-Man scowled as his nonchalant behavior. benrey scoffed and spread his hands.

"no, G-Man, i didn't fuck with your lameass experiment. blame feet-freeman before you blame me. or blame your shitty ass machine." they crossed their arms and leaned back against the wall, spotting Gordon looking at them with one eyebrow cocked. G-Man only sighed irritably and turned on his heel, disappearing into some corner. Benrey turned back to the room, pushing off the wall and crossing the room, opening the door and stepping on the lift to go join the rest in the observation deck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> b. sorry for very spaced out updates i will.. Not update consistently my brain doesnt work sometimes   
> Um. i dont feel like rewatching hlvrai for the 6093825th time so if i get a few things wrong / arent exaclty canon compliant ? sorry but uh. deal w it pls   
> i also know Nothing about half life in general so. jus a heads up for in da future :] 
> 
> twt: @VLLLAINWILBUR

In reality, Benrey had messed with the experiment. Maybe just a bit. Had the portal gone worked... Well, the effects would be devastating to say the least. As smart as these scientists were, there'd be a very slim chance of ever escaping the clutches if the aliens. 

Xen was a hellscape. It was a beehive, with the creature at the top of the foodchain, the Nihilanth, being the queen bee and everything else below it a worker. It was kill or get killed and god fucking forbid you refused to do anything the Nihilanth ordered. 

Benrey's jaw tightened as he thought of the Nihilanth. Distantly, he could still feel the Nihilanth's claws, gripping his mind and slipping as he got farther and farther away from Xen. Shoving the thought of Xen away, he trailed after Tommy and the rest, the sector's lunch break beginning. The cafeteria buzzed with life. 

Benrey took this moment to examine Gordon, really examine Gordon. They knew he was new and probably just transferred, so they never got the chance to meet before the experiment. Gordon was.. pretty, they thought. A lot prettier than the rest of the scientists here, anyways.

And young. Very young to be working at Black Mesa. His long, curly hair was tied up into a ponytail, bouncing as he moved. There was a grey streak in his hair, though that was fair, seeing as Black Mesa was an incredibly stressful work environment. He was also very tall. He towered over Coomer and was just a bit taller than Tommy, though he was much more built than him. While Bubby and Tommy were incredibly lanky and lean, Gordon had some muscle to his body. 

Duly noted. 

The party had sat down, Benrey at the end of the table, sitting next to Tommy. The four scientists chatted as they ate, Benrey deep in thought. Biting into something they stole from Tommy's plate (he made sure to pack food for them, but thats besides the point). They stirred when he noticed Gordon was staring at him. More staring through them, but who cared. 

"take a pic, bro. it'll last longer." 

Gordon blinked, eyes coming back into focus. 

"..Your teeth." 

That caught them offguard. "..wha?" 

"Sharp. Jesus, man, how have you not torn your tongue apart yet?" 

Shit. That was the one thing they forgot to make sure were normal before eating.

"ha-uh, st..staring at my mouth. gordon..g-gayman. hm." good fuckin going, dude, real smooth.

Gordon shook his head, returning to his food without another word.

  
The group split afterward the lunch break. The scientists all had other work to attend to so Benrey returned to the empty hallway. Sighing quietly, they pressed their back up against the cold metal and began to sing. Sweet Voice bubbled out, settling in an array of colors that would've made no sense to anyone but them and Tommy. 

They examined the colors, translating them and stowing away the meanings. 

He deliberately ignored the pink to blue.

-

Science did not care for your feelings. Benrey knew that. They _KNEW_ that, staring through the glass, watching yet another experiment run. A creature wriggled and had Benrey cared enough to let their ears remain tuned to whatever frequency the creature screamed at, Benrey would've screamed too. 

One of their hearts struck with a pang as scientists surrounded the poor creature, faces blank and expressionless as the experiment ran on further. Distantly, they wondered if that could've been them. If they didn't escape. If they lingered for just a minute more, 

..They shut that thought down, turning away and pacing down the hallway.

After what felt like an eternity if being alone, a familar head of curly, brown hair turned the corner. Benrey's eyes widened for a moment before his face fell neutral and they stepped in front of the scientist, who blinked in surprise. 

"can't be in here." 

"Wha- my office is down this hallway." Gordon tried to push past them. 

"no. can't be in here," they repeated, eyes narrowing. Their arms crossed at they stared at the.. much taller man. Um. 

Gordon only stared down at them before scoffing and managing to catch them offguard, shoving them back. Benrey's instincts flew in, grabbing his wrist and jerking him back, sweeping their leg out and knocking him to the ground. They scowled down at him, stunned and wideyed.

"i said, don't go in there. there was a reason." 

Gordon blinked, nodding before Benrey reached out to help him back up. Gordon grasped their hand, pulling himself up and rubbing the back of his head. 

"Christ, dude." 

Benrey crossed their arms again, turning their head as scientists passed, chatting in low voices and comparing notes. He caught bits of the conversation, hearing the words "creature" and whatever they named it, conversation slowing as they neared the scientist and the guard. Benrey stared at them, eyes blank and jaw set tightly. 

One of them greeted Gordon, who responded with a weary smile, still rubbing his head. 

"bbbbalright. go now. hurry up." 

Gordon only shook his head, passing by the guard who trailed after him, letting bubbles of Sweet Voice out and leaning on the wall as Gordon rummaged around in his office. It was relatively neat, though Benrey chalked it up to him being newer to the facility, boxes towered on one another. Gordon shoved papers aside, slinging a laptop bag over his shoulder. Benrey let his attention slip, eyes sliding over to the room directly across the hall and stared through the glass. 

Again, their mind drifted to that previous dark place. Unconsciously, they rubbed at their wrists and jumped when they felt a hand on their shoulder, hand shooting towards their leg and snapping his head around. 

Gordon backed up, putting his hands up in surrender as Benrey relaxed. 

"You good, dude?" 

"..Fine. Let's go." Benrey turned, staring ahead and clenching their jaw. 

  
They should've let Black Mesa blow to fucking dust. Damn Black Mesa and damn the scientists who run those inhumane experiments specifically. They hated Xen with their entire being, but he knew what it was like to have to survive there. He knew what it was like being stared and prodded.


End file.
